NGOs call for ambitious coal exit plan, higher renewables goal for 2030, price on CO₂
More than 60 civil society groups under the umbrella organisation Climate Alliance are calling for an ambitious phase-out of coal-fired power generation, a higher goal for renewables expansion, and a CO₂ floor price in the power sector. The alliance has presented a comprehensive collection of proposals for measures to help Germany reach its 2030 climate targets in all sectors. The proposals include:
- Halving coal power capacity by 2020, and shutting down the dirtiest and oldest plants first
- Raising the 2030 renewables expansion goal from the current 65 to 75 percent
- Introducing a CO₂ floor price for electricity together with Germany’s European neighbours
- Reforming the energy taxes and levies system, e.g. by taking into account the CO₂ intensity of different fuels in taxes
- Designing a plan by mid-2019 on how to steer financial flows to make them compatible with a 1.5 degree Celsius path
- Buttressing the planned climate protection law with concrete measures
The NGOs will discuss their proposals with the German government over the coming months. To complement the sector targets laid out in the Climate Action Plan 2050, environment minister Svenja Schulze has asked other ministries to propose such measures by the end of this year, and the government plans to present the full programme in spring 2019.
Find a press release and the measures in German here.
For background, read the CLEW factsheet Germany’s Climate Action Plan 2050.